Governor Scott Says He's Not Planning to Challenge Gay Adoption Ruling

TALLAHASSEE – Governor Scott and his office have spent the past few days responding to questions about the recent District Court of Appeals decision that ruled against Florida's ban on gay adoption. The inquiries were sparked when earlier in the week, Scott appointed David Wilkins to head the Department of Children and Families. Wilkins, a former Accenture exec, has ties to the Florida Baptists Children's Home, an Evangelical Christian organization that only allows adoption by ”professing Christians“ and does not permit adoption of its wards to gay couples.

Scott's office maintained firmly that while the governor does not support gay adoption, he respects the ruling and has no intention to challenge it. He went a step further in saying that he had not discussed the ruling with Wilkins and that whatever Wilkins' position may or may not be, it would be Scott's directive that is followed by the department. His staff reemphasized that the governor's focus would be on creating jobs and not challenging existing court rulings.

On Thursday, Governor Scott hosted a Twitter forum in which Floridians could pose questions to the governor directly, with those he selected answered in real time. Scott addressed the issue of drilling and maintained that we must continue to drill for oil when and where it is safe and commented on life in Tallahassee, which he claims to enjoy thus far. Many questions on hot-buttoned issues like school vouchers and minimum wage went unanswered in the forum.